By: Elias Bejjani
LCCC Chairman
June 18/07

All media reports circulated by news agencies on Sunday, June 18/07 covering the launching of Katyusha rockets from a Southern Lebanese-Israeli border village towards Israel's northern town of Kiryat Shemona, as well as releases and statements issued in this regard by the Lebanese Army Command, the UNIFIL forces, numerous Lebanese parties and politicians, all without exception stated that the identity of those militant elements who fired the rockets remained unknown.

To put matters into their correct perspective and witness to the truth, we from the LCCC (Lebanese Canadian Coordinating Council) would like to remind everybody that the identity of the men who fired the rockets is not unknown at all. On the contrary, it is well known to everyone, as well as the vicious and
malicious goals that have lead to this act at this particular time.

All media sources, Lebanese and UNIFIL officials, Lebanese politicians and parties, and regional countries etc. have with full knowledge kept a blind eye on the blatant fact that all armed Lebanese, Palestinian, Mafiosi, terrorist and fundamentalist organizations and militias based in Lebanon are financed, sponsored, run, and controlled by Syria and Iran, the two states of the axis of evil. Accordingly, the camouflage of this blatant fact is an insult to the intelligence and knowledge of both the Lebanese people and the people of the neighbouring countries. All should get out and free themselves from this hypocrisy and "Media Dhimitude" demeaning approach and mentality..

In my capacity as Chairman for the LCCC, and on behalf of its board and members, I strongly condemn the rocket launching crime as a blatant and serious
violation of UN Resolution 1701.

The LCCC adamantly believes that both Syria and Iran are fully responsible for this savage act, as well as the so-called Lebanese opposition in all its members.

From the LCCC, we call for the following:

* A responsible, straightforward and firm stance by the Lebanese legitimate Siniora government. We request it submits an urgent official complaint to the UN
Security Council and to the Arab League against Syria and Iran demanding serious and deterrent penalties.

* An immediate and detailed release by UNFIL shedding light on the rocket launching incident, especially that it took place from a Lebanese Southern village
that falls under its joint control and jurisdiction with the Lebanese Army.

* Urgent and immediate field steps governed by an appropriate UN Council Resolution issued under chapter seven, and with full support from the free world and
Arab countries for the deployment of international deterrent forces on the Lebanese-Syrian borders in a bid to put an end once and for all to the illegal
smuggling of men and weapons from Syria to Lebanon.

* Strong and immediate international and regional support to the Lebanese Army, beginning with the help by UNIFIL to disarm all militias based in Lebanon, Lebanese, Palestinian and Islamic fundamentalist, especially Hezbollah and the Syrian-Palestinian illegal military bases of Kusaya, Helwa and Naeme. All the security cantons that belong to Hezbollah as well as the 13 Palestinian camps must be freed from terrorists, disarmed and kept under the state's full control.

There is no doubt that Lebanon will not know stability, security and peace, and all its institutions will not resume normal functioning as long as the Lebanese-Syrian borders are not fully controlled by international deterrent forces operating under Chapter Seven of the UN.

Meanwhile, the Arab League delegation headed by the League's General Secretary Amr Moussa, which is scheduled to begin a mediation mission in Lebanon
tomorrow, is strongly urged to take the matter seriously and to propose a non-biased and effective deterrent urgent applicable plan in a bid to safeguard Lebanon's integrity, sovereignty stability and independence. 

The Arab traditional rhetoric stances of compromise, cajoling, appeasing and camouflaging of facts can no longer be accepted or tolerated by the suffering Lebanese people. The delegation ought to either witness for the truth and stand tall against the Syrian Baathist regime in a courageous and productive stance, or apologize, drop its mission and go back home.

In the midst of all Lebanon's ongoing agony, all hopes of salvation remain focused on the country's army.

From the LCCC we hail the great sacrifices of the Lebanese Armed Forces who are fighting courageously the terrorist groups at the Nahr Al-Bared Palestinian
camp in North Lebanon which are fully sponsored and controlled by neighbouring Syria.
 

*Elias Bejjani
Chairman for the Canadian Lebanese Coordinating Council (LCCC)
Human Rights activist, journalist & political commentator.
Spokesman for the Canadian Lebanese Human Rights Federation (CLHRF)
E.Mail phoenicia@hotmail.com
LCCC Web Site http://www.10452lccc.com
CLHRF Website http://www.clhrf.com

Background
Lebanon militants fire rockets at Israel
By MARK LAVIE, Associated Press Writer
Sun Jun 17, 6:14 PM ET- JERUSALEM - Militants in Lebanon fired at least three rockets into Israel on Sunday, causing no casualties and little damage, but raising the possibility of a new flare-up on the volatile border less than a year after Israel's bloody month long war against Hezbollah. The Lebanese prime minister said the attack was geared at undermining the stability of Lebanon, while the U.N. condemned Sunday's incident as a serious violation to a cease-fire that ended the conflict last year.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, denied involvement, and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert it was mostly likely the work of "a small Palestinian movement."
Israel's initial reaction was muted, but security officials were meeting to debate a response. "We are still clarifying the circumstances," Olmert said in New York, where he was meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "Lebanon has been very quiet in the last nine months and hopefully will continue to be so."
The rockets were the first fired from Lebanon since last summer's war, when almost 4,000 rockets exploded in Israel. The latest rockets landed in the northern town of Kiryat Shemona, which was hard hit during that conflict. An official with Olmert indicated Israel would not hit back.
"Israel will not succumb to this provocation but will monitor the situation carefully," the official said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
Al-Manar, the Hezbollah TV station in Lebanon, broadcast a denial that Hezbollah was involved. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said the attack aimed to destabilize Lebanon by casting doubts about the ability of the army and U.N. peacekeepers to protect the border zone.
"The state ... will spare no effort in uncovering those who stand behind this incident, which is aimed at attempting to undermine the stability" of Lebanon, Saniora said in a statement. A Lebanese security official told The Associated Press that two 107 mm rockets were launched using timers from an area between the villages of Adaisseh and Kfar Kila, a few miles from Israel's border. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
The Lebanese army said in a statement three 107 millimeter Katyusha rockets were fired at Israel by "unknown elements" and that a search was underway to find the attackers. Troops sent to search the suspected launching area found a fourth rocket equipped with a timer.
Israeli Channel 2 TV's Arab affairs analyst, Ehud Yaari, said a splinter Palestinian group in Lebanon was probably behind the attack. There was no claim of responsibility.In the past, small Palestinian groups, like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, have fired a few rockets at Israel.
Yasmina Bouziane, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, said the rocket attack was considered a "serious breach of cessation of hostilities agreement" from last year's war. UNIFIL and Lebanese troops have intensified patrols of the area "in order to locate the perpetrators and prevent any further attacks," she added. The peacekeeping force urged the parties to exercise maximum restraint to prevent escalation. Late Sunday, a drone aircraft could be heard circling over the southern Lebanon port city of Tyre, witnesses said. UNIFIL and the Lebanese army have no drones, and Israel has frequently flown such small aircraft to monitor movements on the ground in southern Lebanon. The 2006 conflict started with a cross-border raid by Hezbollah in which three Israeli soldiers were killed and two captured. Israel launched an air offensive against Hezbollah targets and Lebanese infrastructure. The war ended inconclusively after 34 days.
*Associated Press Writer Hussein Dakroub contributed to this report from Beirut, Lebanon.